Jason Sherwin
Sherwin in 2023
Born1983 (age 40–41)
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Chicago, Georgia Institute of Technology
OccupationEngineer
Known forChief Executive Officer and Founder of deCervo
Engineering career
DisciplinePhysics, Aerospace Engineering, Neurotechnology, Neural Engineering, Music

Jason Sherwin (born 1983) is an American physicist and engineer. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of deCervo, a neuroscience technology company he founded in 2014 to develop a patent from Columbia University in the neural engineering field.[1] [2]

Sherwin, a classically trained pianist,[3] also recreationally creates electronic dance music (EDM) records under the name "Shredder Thor" and classical music records under the name "Binary and Not."

Early Life and Education

edit

Jason Sherwin was born in 1983 in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. He is the only child of Rabbi Byron Sherwin and Judith Sherwin. He attended the day school of the Anshe Emet Synagogue and completed high school at the Latin School of Chicago. At University of Chicago, Sherwin studied physics and music as an undergraduate, finishing in 2005. He earned master's and doctorate degrees at Georgia Institute of Technology in aerospace engineering, graduating in 2010. His thesis merged neuroscience-inspired algorithms designed by Jeff Hawkins with complex systems theory to develop tools for analyzing and engineering a system of systems.[4]

Academic Career

edit

After completing his doctorate, Sherwin pursued the intersection of neuroscience and engineering at the Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural Computing[5] at Columbia University, being mentored by Professor Paul Sajda, a leading researcher in brain-computer interface technology.[6] While at Columbia, Sherwin met deCervo co-founder, Jordan Muraskin, who was then a graduate student. Sherwin’s early work at Columbia on the perceptual decision-making of music listening prompted an interest in Muraskin suggesting they apply these results to their common interest in sports.[7] They quickly settled on the perceptual decision-making of recognizing a baseball pitch when batting.[8]

With the support of Sajda, Sherwin and Muraskin published multiple studies in peer-reviewed neuroscience and neural engineering journals.[9][10][11][12][13] These articles centered on their work in the perceptual decision-making of hitting a baseball pitch. Their first study identified neural correlates in electroencephalography (EEG) for different pitch types, such as fastballs, curveballs and sliders.[14] They followed this study with a comparison of the neural correlates in a comparatively expert population of subjects (here, Division I college baseball players) to a general gender- and age-matched undergraduate population sample.[15] Simultaneously, Sherwin and Muraskin began to image these decision-making processes with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and structural imaging. From fMRI, they identified networks of neural structures whose activity before a pitch could predict upcoming performance.[16] They also identified resting state network features that predicted hitting expertise.[17] Extending other work at LIINC in combining EEG and MRI for perceptual decision-making analysis, Sherwin and Muraskin used EEG to inform a spatio-temporal map of how a person (and more specifically, hitters) identify and recognize pitches thrown towards them.[18] With Sajda, Sherwin and Muraskin are inventors on the patent chronicling this technology for neuroimaging during baseball pitch identification.[19]

deCervo

edit

Founding

edit

Sherwin’s research with Muraskin began to attract attention outside of neuroscience, and most specifically in the world of sports. This interest was picked up by the scientific popular press[20][21] and later the general popular press.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Multiple books have also featured deCervo's work and interviews with Sherwin.[29][30][31] Seeking to apply their invention in sports, Sherwin and Muraskin founded Neuroscout LLC in February 2014. In September 2014, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Sherwin and Muraskin about their invention and nascent company, covering its potential impact in identifying and developing hitters in Major League Baseball.[32] This article also featured the “similarly named” company, called “Neuroscouting”. By the beginning of 2015, Neuroscout LLC had changed its name to deCervo LLC (or more commonly known as “deCervo”). The origin of the company name is reportedly linked to a girlfriend of Sherwin at the time. Being from France, she suggested du cerveau, or “from the brain” in French, and Sherwin and Muraskin anglicized the phrase to alliterate with “decisions,” resulting in the name “decervo”, or its more common capitalization as “deCervo”.[33][34]

Beginning in Baseball

edit

As Chief Executive Officer of deCervo, Sherwin worked with Muraskin, serving as Chief Technology Officer, to develop a perceptual decision-making tool for the scouting and development of baseball hitters. They began to offer such services as consultants to Major League Baseball teams in 2015 and expanded their work in professional baseball to seven clubs by the following season.[35] Since 2016, deCervo has produced and maintained “uHIT” as a phone app, data dashboard and automated coaching tool that aids players and coaches in the scouting and development of baseball hitters.[36][37][38] In addition to English, uHIT is used in Spanish by professional players in Latin America and in Korean by Korean Baseball Organization hitters in South Korea.[39] uHIT is used in youth and college too.[40][41][42]

Leading to Other Sports

edit

In 2018, Sherwin led deCervo's development of its first perceptual decision training app and dashboard for use outside of baseball. In a partnership with the National Hockey League, deCervo developed "uCALL for Officials" to be a tool for referees and linesmen to better see penalty calls. Sherwin was interviewed in 2015 by former National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner, David Stern, as part of a Columbia University Entrepreneurship forum.[43] Later, with Stern’s introduction to his former NBA-colleague, Gary Bettman, Sherwin and Muraskin developed uCALL for Officials under the direction of Stephen Walkom, Director of Officiating at the NHL.[44] In the 2022-23 season, the American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) adopted uCALL for Officials for training its referees and linesmen.[45][46]

Leading Outside of Sports

edit

Sherwin then led deCervo's development of its first perceptual decision training app and dashboard outside of sports. This tool, known as “e-TRAIN”, is for law enforcement officers to learn to apply the law better in a range of decisions commonly encountered, such as traffic stops and uses of force.[47][48]

Leading Work with US Army

edit

Since 2017, Sherwin has led deCervo's research work for the United States Army.[49][50]

Music

edit

Sherwin performs regularly in Sullivan County, New York near his home as a disc jockey under the name "Shredder Thor" producing a variety of electronic dance music (EDM).[51]

Discography

edit
Discography
Album Year released Album details
"Every Breath You Ex Oh"

2020

  • Label: Thor Industries
  • Artist: Shredder Thor
"Sketches in Binary"

2021

  • Label: Thor Industries
  • Artist: Binary and Not
"If Schubert Were a DJ"

2022

  • Label: Thor Industries
  • Artist: Shredder Thor

References

edit
  1. ^ Alex Speier. "Red Sox neuroscouting prospects' potential". bostonglobe.com. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  2. ^ Rebecca Shapiro. "Start Me Up: At the Columbia Startup Lab, the ideas keep on clicking" (PDF). columbia.edu. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  3. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (April 17, 2018). The Performance Cortex. Dutton Books. ISBN 978-1101986332.
  4. ^ Jason Sherwin. "A computational approach to achieve situational awareness from limited observations of a complex system". ProQuest 618808415. Retrieved 24 February 2024 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ "Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural Computing". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Paul Sajda". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  7. ^ Zach Schonbrun (15 July 2015). "Take me out to the brain game". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  8. ^ Larry Greenemeier. ""Neuro Scout" Gets into Batters' Heads to Rate Hitters". Scientific American. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  9. ^ "You can't think and hit at the same time: Neural correlates of baseball pitch identification" (PDF). Frontiers in Neuroscience. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Knowing when not to swing: EEG evidence that enhanced perception-action coupling underlies baseball batter expertise" (PDF). Neuroimage. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Pre-stimulus functional networks modulate task performance in time-pressured evidence gathering and decision-making" (PDF). Neuroimage. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Fusing multiple neuroimaging modalities to assess group differences in perception-action coupling" (PDF). Proceedings of the IEEE. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Brain dynamics of post-task resting state are influenced by expertise: Insights from baseball players" (PDF). Human Brain Mapping. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  14. ^ "You can't think and hit at the same time: Neural correlates of baseball pitch identification" (PDF). Frontiers in Neuroscience. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Knowing when not to swing: EEG evidence that enhanced perception-action coupling underlies baseball batter expertise" (PDF). Neuroimage. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Pre-stimulus functional networks modulate task performance in time-pressured evidence gathering and decision-making" (PDF). Neuroimage. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Brain dynamics of post-task resting state are influenced by expertise: Insights from baseball players" (PDF). Human Brain Mapping. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Fusing multiple neuroimaging modalities to assess group differences in perception-action coupling" (PDF). Proceedings of the IEEE. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  19. ^ "System and methods for identifying and tracking neural correlates of baseball pitch trajectories". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  20. ^ Larry Greenemeier. ""Neuro Scout" Gets into Batters' Heads to Rate Hitters". Scientific American. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  21. ^ Hari Sreenivasan (18 December 2015). "The neuroscience behind decision making in baseball". SciTech Now. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  22. ^ Brian Costa. "Baseball's science experiment". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  23. ^ Alex Speier. "Red Sox neuroscouting prospects' potential". bostonglobe.com. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  24. ^ Stephanie Apstein. "Seeing the benefit: MLB teams focus on enhancing players' visual training". si.com. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  25. ^ Zach Schonbrun (15 July 2015). "Take Me Out to the Brain Game". sbnation.com. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  26. ^ David Kohn. "Scientists examine what happens in the brain when bat tries to meet ball". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  27. ^ Scott Simon. "How A Baseball Batter's Brain Reacts To A Fast Pitch". National Public Radio. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  28. ^ Zach Schonbrun (13 April 2018). "How do athletes' brains control their movements?". New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  29. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (April 17, 2018). The Performance Cortex. Dutton Books. ISBN 978-1101986332.
  30. ^ Katwala, Amit (August 11, 2016). The Athletic Brain. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1471155901.
  31. ^ Lindbergh, Ben (June 4, 2019). The MVP Machine: How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players. Basic Books. ISBN 978-1541698949.
  32. ^ Brian Costa. "Baseball's science experiment". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  33. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (April 17, 2018). The Performance Cortex. Dutton Books. ISBN 978-1101986332.
  34. ^ Zach Schonbrun. "When sports teams track their players' brain waves, who really wins?". Fast Co. Create. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  35. ^ David Schoenfield (15 March 2016). "Sabermetrics' impact grows as baseball delves deeper into the numbers". ESPN. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  36. ^ Joe LeMire (23 July 2019). "Tech Makes Baseball a Simple Game: You See the Ball, You Hit the Ball, You Got It?". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  37. ^ Sam Miller (2 September 2019). "How Christian Yelich turned himself into an MVP". ESPN. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  38. ^ Josh Cascio (27 November 2020). "2020 World Series". Fox Sports. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  39. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (April 17, 2018). The Performance Cortex. Dutton Books. ISBN 978-1101986332.
  40. ^ Bryan Cole (27 January 2015). "Startup deCervo Uses Brain Training to Boost Hitters' Performance". fangraphs.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  41. ^ "Hitting A Baseball". Daily Planet. Discovery Channel. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  42. ^ "Predicting A Pro". Bright Now. Curiosity Stream. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  43. ^ "Sports, the Digital Bellwether. David Stern In Conversation with Digital Innovators of MLBAM, NBA, NFL, NHL, and more". Columbia Entrepreneurship Innovation and Design. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  44. ^ David Feschuk (19 August 2018). "Brain game next frontier in sports". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  45. ^ "ECHL All-Star Game 2023". NHL Network. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  46. ^ Burnside, Scott. "How Do You Become An NHL Official?". The Athletic. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  47. ^ Amit Katwala. "Brain training games are here to end police brutality". Wired Magazine UK. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  48. ^ "Beyond The Beltway, April 18, 2021". Beyond The Beltway. April 18, 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  49. ^ Matt Santaspirts. "Making Quick Decisions, Quicker with Jason Sherwin". The Convergence - An Army Mad Scientist Podcast. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  50. ^ Matt Santaspirts. "It's All In Your Head: How the Brain Makes Better Soldiers with Zach Schonbrun". The Convergence - An Army Mad Scientist Podcast. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  51. ^ "Festival Party". Deep Water Festival. Retrieved 18 February 2024.